You may not have watched Korean dramas but if you happen to be on lockdown or quarantine like many people in the world, now’s your chance to jump on the bandwagon and finally understand why people are so hooked on them.
These days, many people find that their days and nights are filled with work-at-home schedules and the usual everyday mundane tasks amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, but at least viewers can rely on their trusty streaming sites to get through them.
Regardless of whether you’re a K-drama newbie or you’ve been watching them for quite some time, there are certain series that are just worth mentioning. Thankfully, streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Viu are ready to provide you with all the K-drama you need.
Here’s a list of top Korean dramas everyone is streaming right now.
Crash Landing On You
This popular series is much like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, with the main characters coming from two different backgrounds. The story revolves around a rich heiress from South Korea whose paraglider gets caught in a tornado and who ends up crashing in North Korea. She meets and falls in love with a North Korean captain in the elite forces who keeps her safe while trying to figure out how to get her home. These star-crossed lovers have to navigate pushy family members and evil state security officers, all the while hoping that their love for each other can endure amidst all the crazy plot twists and, well, the obvious impossibilities that make Korean dramas so much fun to watch.
Kingdom Season 2
This zombie-riddled period piece has been one of the more surprising hits since the first season premiered in January last year. Kingdom was the first original Korean drama to be produced by Netflix, with production costs reaching over US$1 million (S$1.4 million) per episode. The show, which was based on the webcomic series The Kingdom of Gods, follows the story of the Joseon Dynasty which is in peril as the kingdom is being taken over by a mysterious plague that brings people back from the dead. Fans were not only enthralled by this amazing horror/thriller that’s so well-done, they were also incredibly ecstatic knowing that Netflix decided to continue the series, which released the second season just this month.
Hotel Del Luna
Hotel Del Luna is all about a man who recently graduated from the Ivy League Harvard Business School with an MBA. He takes a job at a hotel chain as the youngest assistant manager to be given his position. But what seems like promising employment turns out to be incredibly strange mostly because the hotel services the paranormal, meaning ghosts, spirits and the like. The award-winning show was even ranked as the 10th highest Korean series with 13 episodes all in all and, despite the pressing theme, there’s nothing scary about it.
Love Alarm
Love Alarm was an international hit that shows the way relationships have changed in the age of technology. The show basically revolves around three main characters that are coming of age during the release of the “love app”. Those who download it on their phones will soon discover if someone in a 10-m radius has romantic feelings towards them. While the app is supposed to help people find love, it also causes as many problems as it solves. The show has also been renewed for a second season. Fans are ecstatic but anxious while they wait for news on the actual release date.
Dr Romantic 2
Although these aren’t the only choices viewers have when it comes to Korean dramas, they are some of the highest-rated ones. But there are hundreds of others that are available on a number of different streaming sites just waiting to be discovered. If you’ve never watched a single series, then decide whether zombies, star-crossed lovers or doctors are interesting to you and start from there. But no matter which one you choose, you’re bound to finally understand what the K-drama fuss is all about. /TISG